Wire joint and method of forming same



P 1934- c. M. M ccHEsNEY WIRE JOINT AND METHOD OF FORMI NG SAME Filed June 12, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 24 Mining! WNW!) lily/cantor: Cesizrfljlizafiesm p 1934- I c. M. M ccHEsNEY 1,972,153

. WIRE JOINT AND METHOD OF FORMING SAME Filed June 12, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Chester/7i Mafiwszzy Patented Sept. 4, 1934 UNITED STATES 1,912,153 wmn JOINT arm METHOD or FORMING same Chester M. MacChesney, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Acme StcelCompany, C

poration of Illinois hicago, 11]., a cor-.

Application June 12, 1931, Serial No. 543,774

17 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in wire joints and its purpose is to provide an improved joint by which the ends of a metallic wire may be united with each other after being passed around a package, or group of packages, or other articles, in order that the bound units may be reinforced and held securely.

Heretofore, round metal wire has been employed for binding or reinforcing packages. or groups of packages, and for securing together various commodities in bales, and the like, and joints have been formed by twisting the ends of the wire together after placing them in overlapping relation, but this method of forming a joint requires the use of ductile wire, in order to permit the twisting of the wire without the shearing or breaking thereof, with the result that the use of round wire for binding purposes has been generally unsatisfactory, for the reason that the ductile wire stretches after the joint has been formed and therefore does not hold the elements of the bound unit or package in compact and securely bound relation.

It is the principal object of the present invention to overcome the above mentioned difficulties by providing a new form of wire joint which will permit the use of hard wire, as distinguished from ductile wire, and which will permit the securing together of the ends of the wire by portions of the wire in cooperation with a surrounding sleeve. A further object of the invention is to provide an improved wire joint comprising a coil of wire within which the overlapping ends 35 of the binding wire are wedged together in tight relation. Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved joint, comprising a tapered wire coil or sleeve, formed separately from the overlapping ends oi. the binding wire which 40 it surrounds and adapted, upon relative longitudinal movement withrespect to the overlapping ends'of the wire, to wedge them into tight relation with each other. A further object is to provide an improved method of forming a wire Joint. Another object is to provide a wire joint comprising two overlapping wire ends, one of which is tapered, andboth of which are surrounded by a tapered sleeve about which the other end of the wire is bent. Other objects relate to various 50 features of construction and arrangement which will appear more fully hereinafter.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the following specification taken with the accompanying drawings in which two em- 55 bodiments are illustrated.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 shows a top plan view of a package, or

group of packages, reinforced or bound in compact relation by two surrounding wires having their ends secured together by the improved joint of the present invention; Fig. 2 shows an enlarged side elevation or top plan view of the wire joint shown in Fig. 1 with the parts thereof separated preliminary to being passed into interlocking engagement with each other, and with a part of the coil broken away;

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged longitudinal section through the improved wire Joint shown in Fig. 1 after it has been completely formed;

Fig. 4 shows a vertical section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 shows an end elevation of the wire coil shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 shows a longitudinal section through a modified form of the invention; 1Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 8 shows a longitudinal vertical section through another modification of the invention;

Fig. 9 shows a horizontal, longitudinal section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 shows a transverse vertical sectional view of the line 10-10 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 shows a plan view of the perforated plate which is bent to form the sleeve-like member embodied in the construction shown in Figs. 8,9and10;and

Fig. 12 shows a longitudinal section through a modified form of sleeve.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a package or group of packages 20 surrounded by two binding wires 21 which are round, hard, metal wires adapted to be drawn taut and to be maintained in taut condition, without stretching. For the purpose of uniting the ends of each wire with each other, one end of the wire is provided with a tapered deformation which, in the form of the invention shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5, is in the form of a reversely bent loop 22, formed by providing the end of the wire with an inclined surface 23 and then reversely bending the end of the wire upon itself to form the loop which gradually enlarges toward the end 22 of the loop. The other end 21 of the wire is retained initially in straight form, as shown in Fig. 2, and is adapted to overlap the loop 22 when the two ends of the wire are brought together about the package. For cooperating with the overlapping ends of the wire, there is provided a sleeve 24 which is tapered from one end to the other and which is preferably formed as a coil of wire 25, having the quality of rection transverse to its taper and is placed upon the wire 21 adjacent the loop 22 so that the taper of the sleeve or coil extends in the same direction as the taper of the loop 22. The wire 25 from which the coil is formed is also preferably flattened transversely to the axis of the coil. In forming the sleeve or coil 24. the wire 25 is preferably wound so that a line contacting the lower inside edges of the upper portions of the coils of the sleeve will be concaved downwardly as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3, for a purpose hereinafter to be described. The'lower edge of the body portion of the wire 21, forming one wall of the loop 22, is preferably roughened or serrated as shown at 22 in Fig. 2, and the inside surface of the wire 25 forming the coil is also serrated or otherwise roughened as shown at 25.

With the parts formed as above described, the wire 21 is passed around the package 20 with the sleeve 24 threaded thereon adjacent the loop 22 and then the free ends of the wire are brought together and the end 21- is threaded through the sleeve 24 until it projects therefrom beyond the small end of the sleeve. During this operation. the sleeve 24 is preferably thrust toward the left, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, until it closely engages the loop 22. The next operation is to stretch or draw the wire 21 taut around the package and this may be done by suitable stretching tools engaging opposite end portions of the wire.

The coil 24 is of elongated cross section and is preferably so formed that. the upper part of the coil is of greater width than the lower part as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The inside of the lower edge of the coil, shown at 25 in Fig. 5, is preferably of slightly lesser width than the diameter of the end portion 21 of the wire which is to occupy the lower part of the coil when the Joint is completely formed, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. With this formation of the parts, the act of drawing the wire taut around the package and of forcing the coil 24 endwise onto the loop 22, operates to wedge the ends of the wire tightly together within the coil so that the free end 21- of the wire is forced downwardly into the lower part of the coil and the loop 22 edges between the free end 21 and the upper part of the coil as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The serrations 25 on the inner side of the coil cause the wire of the coil to bite into the wire end 21* and the loop 22 while the serrations 22 on the under side of the loop bite into the free end of the wire 21*. For the purpose of further increasing the grip of the parts upon each other, the end 21 of the wire may be knurled for a considerable distancefrom the extremity thereof. These cooperating parts serve to hold the joint securely when the wire has been drawn taut and the coil wedged onto the loop 22 but, for the purpose of greater security, the extremity of the free end 21' of the wire is preferably reversely bent around the small end of the coil as shown at 21 in Fig. 3. Owing to the curvature of the upper inside portion of'the coil in a downward direction between its ends, as above referred to, the upper side of the loop 22 engages only the intermediate turns of the coil and does not engage the turns of the coil at the extremities thereof. This prevents the coil from being to any extent loosened or unwound at the ends by the internal pressure of the wedging action because there are a number of turns at each end of the coil which are not directly engaged by the wedge-shaped deformation at the end of the wire.

In Fig. 6, there is illustrated a modified form of the invention which is particularly suitable for those cases where it may be desired to provide more than one wedging sleeve on the two overlapping ends of the same wire. Of course,

this modification is also well adapted for use the mode of operation of the coil or loop 22 previously described The portions of the wire which form the transverse waves or corrugations are preferably flattened transversely to the waves as shown at 35". The end portion 35 of the wire is surroundedadjacent each of the series 86 of waves or deformations, with a sleeve or coil 38, formed preferably by winding a relatively soft round wire 39 into the form of a coil which is tapered from one end to the other. In this embodiment also, the upper part of the coil is preferably concave downwardly between its ends, as described in connection with the preceding embodiment of the invention. The other end 35 of the wire is initially straight and is extended through both of the coils 38 after which the wire 35 is stretched or drawn taut around the package with the result that the sleeves or coils 38 act to force the deformed portions 36 of the wire into tight wedging engagement with the other end portion 35 When more than one coil 38 is used, both coils should be held during the operation of stretching in order to force both of them onto their respective tapered deformations 36 and, when the stretching operation has been completed, thefree end of the wire 35 may be bent around the small end of the adjacent coil 38 as shown at 35. The outer surface of the free end 35 of the wire 35 may beknurled.

In Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the drawings, there is illustrated a third form of the invention in which the sleeve-like member which forces the ends of the wire into wedging relation with each other is formed from a metal plate having a number of registering apertures formed therein. In this form of the invention, the wire 41 which is a hard round wire adapted to be drawn taut around a package, is provided at one end with a wedgeshaped loop 42 with the end of the wire terminating in a flat inclined surface 43 which is pressed into close contact with the side of the wire as in the first form of the invention described above. The other end 41' of the wire is initially straight and may be knurled on its outer surface to cooperate with the adjacent serrated surface 42 of the loop 42. These end portions of the wire are adapted to be forced into gripping engagement with each other by cooperation with an encircling sleeve-like member 44 which is made up by bending a single flat metal plate 45 into zigzag form about transverse lines which are indicated by dotted lines 46 in Fig. 11. The plate 45 is provided with a number of registering apertures 45, 45'', 45, 45 and 45 which gradually increase in size from one end of the plate to the other. These apertures are elongated in cross section with their smaller ends in alignment with each other and their larger ends arranged to contact an imaginary inclined line. When the plate is bent into the zigzag formation shown in Fig. 8 the apertures in the plate align with each other to form, in effect, a tapered sleeve adapted to be engaged by the ends of the wire 41. In applying this form of the inventionto a package, the wire is looped around the package and the sleeve-like member is seated on the package with the curved surfaces 44' and the end surface 44 resting on the package and with the apertures inthe member 44 engaged by the loop 42 at one end of the wire. Before passing the member 44 into tight engagement with the loop 42, the free end 41 of the wire is inserted through the apertures in the plate at the small ends thereof and then the wire is drawn taut and the member 44 is forced endwise onto the loop 42 with the result that the ends of the wire are wedged tightly together and into tight engagement with the walls of the apertures in the member 44. Due to the relative inclination of successive convolutions of the bent plate 45, the walls of the loop 42 and the edges of the free end 41 of the wire are engaged only by the sharp edges 43 of the apertures which are formed to the plate so that these sharp edges bite into the material of the wire and hold the wire ends tightly in place For the purpose of increasing this biting action, after the wire has been drawn taut, the upper side of the member 44 may be struck with a hammer on the upper curved parts 44, thus flattening out the convolutions of the plate to some extent and causing theedges of the apertures to bite further into the material of the wire. As a means of further increasing the security of the joint, the end portion of the part 41 of the wire may be reversely bent around the end of the member 44.as shown at 41.

Instead of forming the encircling sleeve of wire or of a plate as in the forms of the invention previously described, it may be drawn from sheet metal to form a substantially solid sleeve 50 as shown in Fig. 12. This sleeve is similar in formation to the sleeves 24 and 38 previously describedexcept that the walls of the sleeve are of solid metal. The upper wall of the sleeve is preferably concaved downwardly and the curvature at the bottom of the sleeve is preferably such as to cause the free end of the wire to wedge tightly into the bottom of the aperture to the sleeve so that a tight grip is exerted upon the wire ends.

Although several embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described in connection with an explanation of the preferred method of forming the joints embodying the features of these modifications, it will be understood that the invention may be constructed in various forms and practiced in various ways within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination in a wire joint, of a wire having overlapping ends, one of which is bent to form a tapered portion, and a sleeve surrounding and directly engaging said wire ends and holding them in tight relation with each other.

2. The combination in a wire joint, of a wire having overlapping ends, one of which is reversely bent to form an integral tapered portion, and a sleeve surrounding said wire ends and holding them in tight engagement with each other.

3. The combination in a wire joint, of a wire having overlapping ends, one of which is provided with a reversely bent tapered portion, and a tapered sleeve surrounding said wire ends and forcing said tapered portion into tight engagement with the other end of said wire.

4. Thecombinationin a wire Joint, of a wire having overlapping ends, one of which is providedwith a tapered portion, and a separate wire coil surrounding said overlapping ends and holding them in tight engagement with each other,

said wire coil being tapered from one end to the .of said wire to hold said wire ends in close engagement.

6. The combination in a wire joint, of a wire having overlapping ends, one of which is provided with a tapered portion, and a separate tapered wire coil surrounding said wire ends and having a wedging engagement with said tapered portion of said wire to hold said wire ends in close engagement, the surface of one of said wire ends which engages the other wire end being serrated within said coil.

7. The combination in a wire joint, of a wire having overlapping ends, one of which is provided with a tapered loop, and atapered sleeve surrounding said wire ends and having a wedging relationship with said loop to hold said wire ends in close engagement with each other.

8. The combination in a wire joint, of awire having overlapping ends, one of which is provided with a tapered loop, and a tapered sleeve surrounding said wire ends and having a wedging relationship with said loop to hold said wire ends in close engagement with each other, the end of said wire opposite that on which said loop is formed being reversely bent around the small end of said sleeve.

9. The combination in a wire joint, of a pair of overlapping wire ends, one of which has a tapered portion, and a separate tapered helical wire coil surrounding said overlapping wire ends in wedging relationship with said tapered por, tion, one side of said wire coil being tapered outwardly along a curved line whereby the ends of said coil are not expanded by said wedging relationship.

10. The method of forming a joint in a wire passed around a package or the like, which consists in providing oneend of said wire with a wedge-shaped deformation, placing on said end of said wire a tapered sleeve, threading the other end of said wire through said sleeve, and then drawing said wire taut and forcing said sleeve endwise onto said wedge-shaped deformation.

11. The method of forming a joint in a wire passed around a package or the like, which consists in providing one end of said wire with a wedge-shaped deformation, placing on said end of said wire a tapered sleeve, threading the other end of said wire through said sleeve, then drawing said wire taut and forcing said sleeve endwise onto said wedge-shapeddeformation, and then reversely bending said last named end of said wire around the end of said sleeve.

12. The method of forming a joint in a wire passed around a package or the like, which consists in providing one end of said wire with a wedge-shaped deformation, placing on said wire adjacent said end a separate flattened coil of wire which is tapered longitudinally from one end to having overlapping ends, and a sleeve surrounding said wire ends, said sleeve having an aperture therethrough which has walls tapered transversely to said wire ends to cause one of said wire ends to have a tight wedging engagement therewith. A I

14. The combination in a wire joint, 01' a wire having overlapping ends, one or which is provided with a tapered portion, and a sleeve surrounding said wire ends and having an aperture therethrough which is tapered longitudinally and transversely whereby said wire ends are wedged into tight engagement with said sleeve.

15. The combination in awire joint, of a wire having overlapping ends, one of which is provided with a tapered portion, and a sleeve surrounding said wire ends and having an aperture therethrough which is tapered from one end to the other to correspond with the taper or said wire end, said sleeve being of oblong cross-section with one end 01' said cross-section having a lesser dimension than the diameter oi said wire.

16. The combination in a wire joint, of a wire having overlapping ends, one of which is provided with a tapered portion, and a separate wire coil formed oi wire or rectangular cross-section surrounding said overlapping ends, said wire coil being tapered from one end to the other and having a wedging engagement with the portions of wire enclosed within it.

17'. The combination in a wire Joint, of a wire having overlapping ends, one of said ends being reversely bent to provide a tapered portion, and a separate wire sleeve surrounding said wire ends, said sleeve being formed as a wire coil which is tapered longitudinally and flattened 1 transversely, said wire ends having a wedging en gagement with said sleeve;

CHESTER M. MACCHESNE'Y. 

